advice

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Sabbatical Resources and Ideas Sought

A philosophy professor at a small liberal arts college with his first sabbatical on the horizon writes in seeking advice about “resources and best practices for sabbatical planning.” (more…)

Advice for Applying to PhD Programs in Philosophy (guest post)

In the following guest post *, Alex Guerrero, professor and director of graduate admissions in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University, offers some advice to those considering applying to philosophy PhD programs. (more…)

Grad Students: What Would You Tell Your Professors, But Can’t? (Volume 2)

Philosophy graduate students, what would you like to tell your professor(s) right now, but can’t? (more…)

Grad Students: What Do You Wish You Knew? (Volume 2)

The academic year is soon upon us (don’t shoot the messenger). Philosophy departments are getting ready for a new class of graduate students and those new graduate students getting ready for graduate school. What should those new graduate students know? (more…)

The Art of Philosophical Writing: An Interview with William Lycan (by Nathan Ballantyne)

“There has to be a balance between the formal and the conversational.” (more…)

Being an “Awesome First-Year Graduate Student”

As his son approaches graduate school, Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside), has been thinking about advice he can offer him to be an “awesome first-year graduate student”. (more…)

What You Wish You Knew When You Started Teaching Philosophy

The fall term is almost upon us, so let’s talk teaching.

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What You Wish Someone Had Told You About the Academic Philosophy Job Market

What do you wish you had known about finding a job in academic philosophy, but didn’t, when you were a graduate student preparing to do so? (more…)

How To Write A Philosophy Paper: Online Guides

Some philosophy professors, realizing that many of their students are unfamiliar with writing philosophy papers, provide them with “how-to” guides to the task. (more…)

Advice to Young Scholars from Anita Allen

Work on problems that really interest you. Cross train. Be competent in multiple disciplines and methods. Don’t be afraid to start draft/writing before you know all that there is to know. Publish well. Use social media cautiously. Don’t think you will be an exception to standard rules because of your race or color. A woman does not get tenure because she been a hard..

Revisiting “Grad Students: What Would You Tell Your Prof(s), But Can’t?”

About a year ago I asked, “Graduate students, what would you like to tell your professor(s) right now, but can’t?” (more…)

As Graduate Students Prepare For The New Academic Year

Quitting A Safe Job To Pursue A Career In Philosophy (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment, the column by Dear Ida that offers personal advice for your academic life. Today’s letter is from someone considering pursuing a career in academic philosophy. (more…)

Grad Student Asks: How To Switch Departments? (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment, the column by Dear Ida that offers personal advice for your academic life. Today’s letter is from a graduate student seeking advice on moving from one department to another. (more…)

“Ought Experiment” Returns With New Advice Columnist

Ought Experiment, the Daily Nous feature offering “personalized advice for your academic life,” will be returning soon after having been on hiatus since last May. During this break, Original Ought Experiment columnist Louis Generis stepped down to pursue other interests, such as keeping his day job*. After a hardly exhaustive search I am pleased to announce Ought ..

On Reporting Green-Card Marriages

The latest edition of “The Ethicist,” the The New York Times‘ moral advice column (published last Wednesday), takes as its topic sham green-card marriages. The advice seeker asks current Times ethicist, Kwame Anthony Appiah (NYU), whether she should report that at a wedding of an acquaintance, the bride explained to her that the marriage “was a fraud, one she’d ent..

Productive in Publishing 2: Reply to Brennan (guest post by David Enoch)

Yesterday, I posted an outline of Jason Brennan’s advice to graduate students on how to be productive in publishing (when you read that, do note the further details Brennan supplies in response to some of the comments). In what follows, David Enoch, the Rodney Blackman Chair in the Philosophy of Law in the Faculty of Law and the Philosophy Department at Hebrew Unive..

Productive in Publishing (guest post by Jason Brennan)

Jason Brennan received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 2007. Since then, he has authored or co-authored seven books, and has two more books currently in progress. He has also written a good number of peer-reviewed articles, reference entries, and pieces for popular consumption. He’s currently Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Chair and Provost’s Distinguished Assoc..

Advice for a Philosopher Being Used By a Scam

As reported last week, there is a phony version of the International Journal of Philosophy and Theology in existence, tricking authors into submitting to it rather than to the legitimate one.

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Grad Students: What Do You Wish You Knew?

It’s the start of the academic year,and for some people, the start of their graduate education in philosophy. Graduate students are getting oriented in their programs, and graduate programs are orientating their students. Are they doing a good job of it? (more…)

How To ACTUALLY Work During Summer (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment! Today’s letter is from a graduate student that’s hoping to break the cycle of unproductive summers… you know, sometime later this summer: (more…)

How To Tell People You’re Leaving Academia (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment! Today’s letter is from a philosopher who’s decided to leave the profession after several years of trying to get a tenure-track job, and is wondering how to break the news to academic friends and mentors:

Dear Louie,

After spending several years in NTT positions and failing yet again to get a TT job, I have decided to leave aca..

Getting In Next Time (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment! Today’s letter comes from a student who just struck out on all their grad school applications, and wants to know what they can do to improve their chances next time:

Dear Louie,

I have well over a 4.0 GPA, and had great letters of recommendation from my professors. I also have published one paper in an undergrad journal. On to..

Reasons to Reject an Advisee (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment! This week, a professor wonders when it’s permissible to reject a grad student’s request to serve on their committee, and how to avoid crushing a student if one does end up having to say no:

Dear Louie,

I hope you don’t think me a monster for this, but I have reason to suspect that a graduate student I’d strongly prefer not to ..

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Philosophers (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment! This week’s question is from a grad student looking for advice on the habits that make one a better philosopher. After googling “how to be a better philosopher”, I’m prepared to fake my way through a half-decent answer:

Dear Louie,

I’m curious about what habits philosophers have cultivated that are specifically geared at being..

The Value and Pressure of Academic Closeness (Ought Experiment)

Welcome back to Ought Experiment, which returns after a brief waiting-for-more-emails hiatus! (Hint hint guilt trip hint.) This week’s question is from a woman wondering if the close friendships that many grads seem to have with their professors are necessary for professional success.

Dear Louie,

What kind of relationship should you foster with your professors..

Free Resources for Philosophy Teachers

TeachPhilosophy101 is an open-source compendium of resources helpful for teaching philosophy. It’s mission is “to enhance undergraduate student learning in introductory philosophy courses by providing free, user-friendly strategies and resources to the academic community.”

The site covers everything from planning a course (including things like syllabi constructi..

Help With Philosophy Teaching

The editors of the Blog of the American Philosophical Association have begun a new series to help members of the profession with questions, challenges, and problems, about teaching philosophy. Jennifer Morton (CUNY) writes:

The Teaching Workshop is a new, regular feature on the Blog of the APA, run by the APA’s committee on the teaching of philosophy. Every other..